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Episode 27 - Numbers Stations

One-Time Pod
One-Time Pod
Episode • Dec 6, 2019 • 10m

by Hannah Batson

RadioNumber stations are one of our most well known forms of modern day cryptography. It was first used during the end of World War I, and was later used through World War 2, and the Cold War. Today you can find many active number stations on your average online shortwave frequency radio. This podcast explores the workings of number stations, as well as popular stations that have been recorded throughout the years. Considering the recency of the confirmation of number stations, and the little knowledge that we have on these stations, this podcast will merely dive into the theories of this mysterious topic.

Works Cited

Careless, J. (12 January 2018) ​Do Shortwave ‘Number Stations’ Really Instruct Spies? Radio World. Retrieved from https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/do-shortwave-numbers-stations-really -instruct-spies

Goldmanis, M. (24 May 2018) ​Explaining the ‘Mystery’ of Number Stations. ​War on The Rocks. Retrieved from https://warontherocks.com/2018/05/explaining-the-mystery-of-numbers-stations/

Goldmanis, M. ​Before Enigma: The Early Number Station Monitors. ​NumberStations Research and Information Center. Retrieved from https://www.numbers-stations.com/articles/before-enigma-the-early-numbers-stations-monitors/

Sorrel-Dejerine, O. (16 April 2014) ​The Spooky World of the ‘Number Stations’.​ BBC News Magazine. Retrieved from ​https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24910397​.

Audio Clips

Tissot B. (Composer). Deep Blue [Audio File]. Retrieved from 

https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music/track/deep-blue

Tissot B. (Composer). Enigmatic [Audio File]. Retrieved from 

https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music/track/enigmatic

Gong Station Chimes [Audio File]. Retrieved from 

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Conet_Project/The_Conet_Project/gong_station_chimes

HM01 [Audio File]. Retrieved from http://priyom.org/number-stations/digital/hm01# 

The Lincolnshire Poacher mi5 [Audio File]. Retrieved from 

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Conet_Project/The_Conet_Project/the_lincolnshire_poacher_mi5

The Sweedish Rhapsody [Audio File]. Retrieved from 

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Conet_Project/The_Conet_Project/tcp_d1_01_the_swedish_rhapsody_irdial

V13 [Audio File]. Retrieved from http://priyom.org/number-stations/other/v13

Image: Radio, pxhere, CC0

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